Judge rejects San Mateo County's request for more than $450K in attorneys fees over embezzlement case

By Bonnie Eslinger

Daily News Staff Writer

Posted:
07/03/2014 05:57:41 AM PDT

Updated:
07/03/2014 05:58:12 AM PDT

A federal judge has refused to award San Mateo County more than $450,000 in attorney fees related to the case of a former employee convicted in November of stealing from the estates of dead residents.

But the county won't walk away empty-handed.

In his June 13 restitution order, U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen ordered Peter Wong, 45, of Daly City, to pay San Mateo County $104,774 -- less than 20 percent of the $561,167 it sought for the services of three law firms.

The fees were connected to the investigation and prosecution of Wong, argued lawyers from San Francisco-based Keker & Van Nest, LLP in a brief submitted on behalf of the county.

On Nov. 22, 2013, a federal jury convicted Wong, a former public administrator for the county, of stealing a $10,000 savings bond and two cashier's checks totaling more than $212,000. The bond and checks were found inside his home during a law enforcement search.

The county is entitled to reimbursement for work that Keker & Van Nest did to assist federal prosecutors with their case, Chen said.

In his restitution order, however, Chen wrote that the county didn't present enough evidence to show other fees, including $393,171 for legal services provided by San Mateo-based Fox, Shjeflo, Hartley & Babu LLP, "were necessary or reasonable."

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The judge also noted that his review of some of the law firm's bills suggested not all of the work done was investigative, as the county had argued. "In other words, it appears that Fox Shjeflo billed the county for various administrative tasks that were the County's duties," Chen wrote.

Nor did the county make its case that $21,401 in fees from San Francisco-based Hanson Bridgett LLP were "reasonably necessary," the judge wrote. The county said in its brief that the firm did a "systematic review" of the estates administered by Wong to ensure compliance with federal and state tax laws.

Deputy County Counsel Brian Kulich said the county felt the legal services were fundamental to the case and "basically put it all out there," for possible reimbursement.

"I think we're OK with this order. Obviously it isn't everything we asked for," Kulich said in a recent phone interview.

In its May 21 brief, the county also pointed out that it spent about $240,000 worth of staff time on the case as well.

Wong was sentenced in April to 33 months in federal prison but remains out of custody while his case is appealed. Opening briefs are due July 16, said Wong's attorney, Dean Johnson.

In seeking to overturn his client's conviction, Johnson said he'll once again argue that Wong was a "dedicated and hard-working employee who got caught up in a hard situation," namely the county's understaffed, disorganized public administrator's office.

The county hired several legal teams to examine the details of the case because of its own liability, Johnson said.

"The whole situation had been created by the county's negligence in terms of administering these estates," Johnson said.

Wong was arrested by FBI agents on June 22, 2012, along with another former county employee, Mandy Yagi. At the time, they were both charged with conspiracy to commit theft from a federally funded program and theft concerning a federally funded program. In November, the federal jury cleared Yagi of all charges.